Healthier Habits Start With Nutritious Food, Good Advice and Friendly Faces.
When mothers of young children take good care of themselves, they’re better able to take care of their kids.
Too often, though, a mother’s circumstances things like lack of time, lack of transportation, lack of child care and lack of access to healthy food interfere with self-care. “Young mothers often take care of their children first, then don’t pay enough attention to their own needs,” says Barbara Mintz, MS, RD, System Senior Vice President of Healthy Living and Community Engagement at RWJBarnabas Health.
Now, those women can take advantage of the Women’s Wellness Pantry Program at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center’s Reverend Dr. Ronald B. Christian Community Health and Wellness Center. The program enrolls pregnant women and new moms and serves their family through age 5 of the child by providing a balanced variety of healthy pantry items, fresh produce and, if needed, period products and diapers.
The program, created in partnership with the Community Food Bank of New Jersey and ShopRite, includes nutrition education and connections to prenatal and postpartum health care.
This circle of support is enhanced by the women who participate. “We’re delivering nutrition information in a casual way, over a cup of tea or a bowl of soup in our kitchen at the Community Health and Wellness Center,” says Molly Fallon Dixon, MS, RDN, Community Wellness Coordinator. “The mothers can find support, sharing and friendly faces around the table.”
Nutritional Needs
One way Newark Beth Israel Medical Center (NBI) is spreading the word to young mothers is through screenings at its outpatient Women’s Health Center. “When I see mothers as patients, we talk about eating and what resources and challenges they have,” says Karen Basedow, MS, RDN, CDE. “If they don’t have access to SNAP [New Jersey’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program], I can help them with an application. If they are eating mostly processed foods and going to fast-food restaurants, we can address the nutritional implications of that kind of poor diet.” Community members can also get fresh produce at The Beth Greenhouse Farmers Market, held each Thursday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at The Beth Greenhouse at the corner of Osborne Terrace and Lehigh Avenue.
“When a woman is pregnant, whatever she eats is what her baby eats. And when children are young, they tend to eat what their mom eats as well,” says Kerri Likakis, MS, RDN, CPT. “One of the reasons we focus on this population is that nutrient deficiencies prior to the age of 2 can lead to problems in children’s development. If you don’t eat right, you don’t grow right.”
“Sometimes, making the right choice is very difficult,” says Mintz. “Many women are facing obstacles to their health that have less to do with clinical issues and more to do with social boundaries. These women need our support through access to nutrition and prenatal and postpartum education as well as access to healthy and affordable food.
Women are often the center of the family, and reaching them can change the health of many both in the short and long term.” Adds Fallon Dixon, “Here, you can learn about nutrition and cooking and get healthy food all in a comfortable place where you can have a seat and feel welcome.”
The Reverend Dr. Ronald B. Christian Community Health and Wellness Center, located at 208 Lyons Avenue, offers free wellness classes to community members.